Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the claims made by the contractor, the contractor submitted more than 800 claims for additional money for this project. The board is disputing and defending those claims. It has been extremely successful in discussions and arbitrations in ensuring most of the claims made by the contractor have been rejected and, in some cases, reduced very significantly. Indeed, there are now four cases before the High Court, which forms part of the management process. As those matters are before the High Court, I cannot say much more about them. Suffice to say, the board is defending the State against claims and has been very successful, at least so far, in defending our interests against the contractor in that regard.

When it comes to the issue of vacancies on the board, there is a campaign on stateboards.iefor a new chairperson. Applications closed on 14 May and the Public Appointments Service, PAS, will work through them in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Mr. Tim Bouchier-Hayes has taken on the role of interim chair. On 23 February, the Minister appointed two new members to the board from an existing PAS panel. There are three vacancies and a panel selection for ordinary members of the board will be established as soon as the new chairperson is appointed.

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